884 Granville St would seem to be correct since the Vogue theatre (seen near the Orpheum in the above photo and still open) has an address of 918 Granville.
I think in this instance the A & C is for Abbott & Costello. “A & C meet Frankenstein” sort of gives it away.
Based on swampdevil’s comment I gather that Bob Furmanek is an Abbott & Costello buff.
Contrary to the statement in the opening paragraph, the organ in the O'Brien Theatre is not the only working theatre organ installed in a vintage theatre in Canada. The Wurlitzer organ in the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver BC holds that distinction and is also the only organ still in it’s original location. The organ in the O'Brien was made up from salvaged parts from at least three organs that had been originally installed elsewhere and was installed many years after the theatre was built.
blackjackdavey: Not to take away from the little gem that the North Park is, but if you’re looking for other cinema treasures in the Buffalo area you should make a point of visiting the former Shea's
Buffalo theatre on Main St in downtown Buffalo. It has been refurbished to it’s 1920’s grandeur, along with it’s original Wurlitzer organ. Used mainly as a live performance venue today, it only rarely shows film now. However, the theatre itself is worth the visit. Also any trip to the area means a visit to the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda. Not only has it been restored and regularly shows movies, but there is the added bonus of the Wurlitzer organ in it’s original setting. Besides regular monthly organ concerts, it is usually played at intermission.
Both Shea’s Buffalo (Shea’s Center for the Perfoming Arts) and the Riviera theatre have their own listings here on Cinema Treasures.
Howard Colton Stone is recorded as being an architect with offices in Montreal. He was working in that city during the period between 1900 and 1924 which fits as far as construction of the Walker theatre (1906/07) is concerned. Unfortunately the Montreal site only lists his accomplishments in that city and none elsewhere. The University of Manitoba School of Architecture shows Howard C Stone as the architect of record for the Walker theatre and I believe he should be listed as such at the top of this page.
Patsy: The only color for a 57 T-bird that works for me is RED!! Black, 2nd choice. Unfortunately you can’t go tooling down Main Street in Buffalo past Shea’s or the former Paramount in your T-Bird now. As far as I know the street is still closed to vehicle traffic (except for transit) these days :(
Sadly, the status of the Epic aka Regent aka Rex theatre must now be changed to Closed/Demolished as of today. It has been pounded into a pile of rubble.
The 1913 facade still existed beneath a more recent one, along with other architectural detail that came to light. Promises from the demolition firm to peel away the false front so that photos of the historic facade could be taken before total destruction of the theatre was carried out were apparently forgotten. Demolition was carried out in the wee hours of the morning before the originally scheduled time. It was hoped that some original artifacts like the coat of arms above the proscenium could be salvaged before the building came down. However the demolition proceeded with such haste that it seems unlikely that anything was saved.
Once comments have been submitted there’s no way of editing them unfortunately.
As far as changing the status of the theatre, the site administrators review comments periodically and will eventually change it from ‘Closed’ to ‘Closed-Demolished’.
By the way, apparently the Starland went out in a blaze of glory with the front facade collapsing onto Main Street. The west side of Main is temporarily closed to traffic in the vicinity.
Someone did manage to gain access to the theater yesterday to take some photos. Looking at the photos I was surprised to see how much of the original ornamental detail from 1913 has survived. Unfortunately the interior has suffered the curse of many closed up buildings. Broken windows have allowed pigeons to roost inside with the inevitable excrement left over everything, a lot of it on the original red leather theater seats. Except for one corner of the balcony apparently there is very little water damage to the interior.
Obviously a listing on the Historic Buildings inventory in this burg doesn’t mean much. Apparently buildings can be dropped from that inventory on a whim so that they may be demolished without much opposition.
The status of the Odeon Drive-In can now be changed to ‘Closed’. It was announced last night in a local tv news report that because of poor attendance the last two seasons Odeon management has decided not to reopen and are closing it permanently. The Odeon was the last drive-in theater left in the area. It was also reported that the property is available for sale.
Patsy, If you look through the online catalog that OSI has on their website you’ll see that they are in a position to build your very own theatre organ with authentic Wurlitzer gizmos. (I assume that they may have bought the patents or the rights to duplicate certain Wurly designs).
As far as the original Opus 1616 organ is concerned, do you think that the powers-that-be at the Palace theater in Albany could be coaxed into buying and installing it there to replace their long lost organ?
I remember well that 78rpm pre-show, intermission music to this day, complete with hiss, pops and scratches and other assorted surface noise. Even with theatre sound systems that de-emphasized high frequencies it was still noticeable. For that matter with the sometimes careless handling of vinyl, the LP’s and 45’s weren’t always any better.
A building listed on the Winnipeg Heritage site and/or Historical Buildings inventory appears to carry little weight with the city administration since it can be removed on a moment’s notice with no fanfare or any explanation for that matter.
Something doesn’t quite jibe with those Starland interior photos. The ceiling was definitely higher since at one time it had a balcony, which makes me think that the floor had to have been filled in and leveled. Also I don’t see any stage platform. I read somewhere that the building had been used for commercial purposes for a time. Perhaps that’s why.
I remember this theater as the Regent, the name that it had for many years. However, I believe that when first opened it was called the Rex.
Across the street from the Epic and Starland was the Oak theater located near the Occidental Hotel. It was small with a single center aisle. It had little to recommend it.
The Bijou theater (demolished) was further south on Main with its entrance in the Clements Block next door to the Union Bank tower. It has its own listing on Cinema Treasures.
LuisV: According to one source Wurlitzer built its last theater organ in 1940. Wurlitzer’s other manufacturing divisions (band organs, jukeboxes, pianos and other musical instruments) were gradually sold off over the years.
The Wurlitzer factory building still stands on Niagara Falls Blvd in North Tonawanda, not far from the Riviera Theater. Today the building is occupied by various businesses.
I know that the Riviera’s organ has been enlarged and enhanced over the years with ranks of pipes and parts obtained from other area theater organs. I suppose that some of the modifications, while well intentioned, were misguided and ill conceived. Therefore some things had to be undone or redone. This may be the reference to redundant pipes. I believe that Clark Wilson points this out in recent comments he made on the Riviera’s page.
Offhand the only Como theater(s) that I recall in WNY was in the Como Mall. The mall became an office park, renamed Appletree Mall. I believe that the theaters may have survived at least for a time and may have kept the Como name. It wasn’t a drive-in though. I have no idea if the mall and/or the theaters exists today.
Not too far distant from the Como Mall was the three screen Buffalo Drive-in on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga. Sadly it closed in the past year and was demolished. The land was cleared for development.
Patsy: According to the posting on Feb 4/08, the Paramount organ is/was in storage at Organ Supply Industries in Erie PA. If it is still there I assume that it is not set up and in playable condition.
As far as the Paramount building is concerned, Buffalo was beginning a decline in fortunes when the theater closed and I’m sure the theater owners were glad to get the liability of a mammoth empty building off their books. Nemmer furniture no doubt made them an offer they couldn’t refuse for the property.
The only other major theater in the city is the C Howard Crane designed Metropolitan (nee Allen). Try as they might Centre Venture (the ciy’s redevelopment agency) couldn’t interest anyone in restoring it. An organization (Friends of the Met) was formed for the same purpose but that died on the vine. Several proposals were put forward, including a rock ‘n’ roll museum of sorts, but nothing ever came of it. Finally a local entrepreneur has come forward and bought the theater. So far final plans have not been made public.
The city is desperate to redevelop that area of town so the proposal by the regional health authority to build there may have been encouraged by the powers that be. They also want to get a liability off the city’s books. Except for the old Regent theater (also abandoned) and one other empty building, the block is already vacant land.
Although it’s only a few blocks up Main from the Centennial Concert hall, Manitoba Museum and Planetarium, as well as City Hall, the area deteriorates very rapidly. I doubt that there would be much protest if the theater was demolished (After all you’re talking about a city that allowed a large Thomas Lamb designed theater to be demolished and no one uttered a word).
As can be partly seen in the photo link, the Starland now stands almost alone on that block of Main. At one time it was theater row in miniature. To the right of the Starland was the Fox (demolished) and also the Regent,(still standing but derelict and probably will be demolished when the proposed office complex is constructed).
For many years the Starland, along with the other theaters in that area were grind houses. That part of town was the equivalent of skid row and the theaters catered to the occupants of nearby rooming houses and low income hotels, as well as passengers between trains who had wandered over from the nearby railroad station.
884 Granville St would seem to be correct since the Vogue theatre (seen near the Orpheum in the above photo and still open) has an address of 918 Granville.
I think in this instance the A & C is for Abbott & Costello. “A & C meet Frankenstein” sort of gives it away.
Based on swampdevil’s comment I gather that Bob Furmanek is an Abbott & Costello buff.
Now that is sad. It might be any mallplex theatre rather than the once grand NY Capitol theatre. There is absolutely no hint of its original splendor.
Contrary to the statement in the opening paragraph, the organ in the O'Brien Theatre is not the only working theatre organ installed in a vintage theatre in Canada. The Wurlitzer organ in the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver BC holds that distinction and is also the only organ still in it’s original location. The organ in the O'Brien was made up from salvaged parts from at least three organs that had been originally installed elsewhere and was installed many years after the theatre was built.
Although the theatre was originally built and owned by M J O'Brien the correct name is the O'Brien Theatre, not O'Brien’s.
The O'Brien is also home to the Ottawa Valley Theatre Organ Society (OVTOS).
blackjackdavey: Not to take away from the little gem that the North Park is, but if you’re looking for other cinema treasures in the Buffalo area you should make a point of visiting the former Shea's
Buffalo theatre on Main St in downtown Buffalo. It has been refurbished to it’s 1920’s grandeur, along with it’s original Wurlitzer organ. Used mainly as a live performance venue today, it only rarely shows film now. However, the theatre itself is worth the visit. Also any trip to the area means a visit to the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda. Not only has it been restored and regularly shows movies, but there is the added bonus of the Wurlitzer organ in it’s original setting. Besides regular monthly organ concerts, it is usually played at intermission.
Both Shea’s Buffalo (Shea’s Center for the Perfoming Arts) and the Riviera theatre have their own listings here on Cinema Treasures.
Howard Colton Stone is recorded as being an architect with offices in Montreal. He was working in that city during the period between 1900 and 1924 which fits as far as construction of the Walker theatre (1906/07) is concerned. Unfortunately the Montreal site only lists his accomplishments in that city and none elsewhere. The University of Manitoba School of Architecture shows Howard C Stone as the architect of record for the Walker theatre and I believe he should be listed as such at the top of this page.
Patsy: The only color for a 57 T-bird that works for me is RED!! Black, 2nd choice. Unfortunately you can’t go tooling down Main Street in Buffalo past Shea’s or the former Paramount in your T-Bird now. As far as I know the street is still closed to vehicle traffic (except for transit) these days :(
Sadly, the status of the Epic aka Regent aka Rex theatre must now be changed to Closed/Demolished as of today. It has been pounded into a pile of rubble.
The 1913 facade still existed beneath a more recent one, along with other architectural detail that came to light. Promises from the demolition firm to peel away the false front so that photos of the historic facade could be taken before total destruction of the theatre was carried out were apparently forgotten. Demolition was carried out in the wee hours of the morning before the originally scheduled time. It was hoped that some original artifacts like the coat of arms above the proscenium could be salvaged before the building came down. However the demolition proceeded with such haste that it seems unlikely that anything was saved.
Once comments have been submitted there’s no way of editing them unfortunately.
As far as changing the status of the theatre, the site administrators review comments periodically and will eventually change it from ‘Closed’ to ‘Closed-Demolished’.
By the way, apparently the Starland went out in a blaze of glory with the front facade collapsing onto Main Street. The west side of Main is temporarily closed to traffic in the vicinity.
Someone did manage to gain access to the theater yesterday to take some photos. Looking at the photos I was surprised to see how much of the original ornamental detail from 1913 has survived. Unfortunately the interior has suffered the curse of many closed up buildings. Broken windows have allowed pigeons to roost inside with the inevitable excrement left over everything, a lot of it on the original red leather theater seats. Except for one corner of the balcony apparently there is very little water damage to the interior.
Obviously a listing on the Historic Buildings inventory in this burg doesn’t mean much. Apparently buildings can be dropped from that inventory on a whim so that they may be demolished without much opposition.
The status of the Odeon Drive-In can now be changed to ‘Closed’. It was announced last night in a local tv news report that because of poor attendance the last two seasons Odeon management has decided not to reopen and are closing it permanently. The Odeon was the last drive-in theater left in the area. It was also reported that the property is available for sale.
Even when you sound it out and then spell it correctly, Wehrle somehow still looks wrong.
Patsy, If you look through the online catalog that OSI has on their website you’ll see that they are in a position to build your very own theatre organ with authentic Wurlitzer gizmos. (I assume that they may have bought the patents or the rights to duplicate certain Wurly designs).
As far as the original Opus 1616 organ is concerned, do you think that the powers-that-be at the Palace theater in Albany could be coaxed into buying and installing it there to replace their long lost organ?
I remember well that 78rpm pre-show, intermission music to this day, complete with hiss, pops and scratches and other assorted surface noise. Even with theatre sound systems that de-emphasized high frequencies it was still noticeable. For that matter with the sometimes careless handling of vinyl, the LP’s and 45’s weren’t always any better.
A building listed on the Winnipeg Heritage site and/or Historical Buildings inventory appears to carry little weight with the city administration since it can be removed on a moment’s notice with no fanfare or any explanation for that matter.
Something doesn’t quite jibe with those Starland interior photos. The ceiling was definitely higher since at one time it had a balcony, which makes me think that the floor had to have been filled in and leveled. Also I don’t see any stage platform. I read somewhere that the building had been used for commercial purposes for a time. Perhaps that’s why.
I remember this theater as the Regent, the name that it had for many years. However, I believe that when first opened it was called the Rex.
Across the street from the Epic and Starland was the Oak theater located near the Occidental Hotel. It was small with a single center aisle. It had little to recommend it.
The Bijou theater (demolished) was further south on Main with its entrance in the Clements Block next door to the Union Bank tower. It has its own listing on Cinema Treasures.
LuisV: According to one source Wurlitzer built its last theater organ in 1940. Wurlitzer’s other manufacturing divisions (band organs, jukeboxes, pianos and other musical instruments) were gradually sold off over the years.
The Wurlitzer factory building still stands on Niagara Falls Blvd in North Tonawanda, not far from the Riviera Theater. Today the building is occupied by various businesses.
I know that the Riviera’s organ has been enlarged and enhanced over the years with ranks of pipes and parts obtained from other area theater organs. I suppose that some of the modifications, while well intentioned, were misguided and ill conceived. Therefore some things had to be undone or redone. This may be the reference to redundant pipes. I believe that Clark Wilson points this out in recent comments he made on the Riviera’s page.
Offhand the only Como theater(s) that I recall in WNY was in the Como Mall. The mall became an office park, renamed Appletree Mall. I believe that the theaters may have survived at least for a time and may have kept the Como name. It wasn’t a drive-in though. I have no idea if the mall and/or the theaters exists today.
Not too far distant from the Como Mall was the three screen Buffalo Drive-in on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga. Sadly it closed in the past year and was demolished. The land was cleared for development.
Patsy: According to the posting on Feb 4/08, the Paramount organ is/was in storage at Organ Supply Industries in Erie PA. If it is still there I assume that it is not set up and in playable condition.
As far as the Paramount building is concerned, Buffalo was beginning a decline in fortunes when the theater closed and I’m sure the theater owners were glad to get the liability of a mammoth empty building off their books. Nemmer furniture no doubt made them an offer they couldn’t refuse for the property.
The only other major theater in the city is the C Howard Crane designed Metropolitan (nee Allen). Try as they might Centre Venture (the ciy’s redevelopment agency) couldn’t interest anyone in restoring it. An organization (Friends of the Met) was formed for the same purpose but that died on the vine. Several proposals were put forward, including a rock ‘n’ roll museum of sorts, but nothing ever came of it. Finally a local entrepreneur has come forward and bought the theater. So far final plans have not been made public.
The city is desperate to redevelop that area of town so the proposal by the regional health authority to build there may have been encouraged by the powers that be. They also want to get a liability off the city’s books. Except for the old Regent theater (also abandoned) and one other empty building, the block is already vacant land.
Although it’s only a few blocks up Main from the Centennial Concert hall, Manitoba Museum and Planetarium, as well as City Hall, the area deteriorates very rapidly. I doubt that there would be much protest if the theater was demolished (After all you’re talking about a city that allowed a large Thomas Lamb designed theater to be demolished and no one uttered a word).
As can be partly seen in the photo link, the Starland now stands almost alone on that block of Main. At one time it was theater row in miniature. To the right of the Starland was the Fox (demolished) and also the Regent,(still standing but derelict and probably will be demolished when the proposed office complex is constructed).
For many years the Starland, along with the other theaters in that area were grind houses. That part of town was the equivalent of skid row and the theaters catered to the occupants of nearby rooming houses and low income hotels, as well as passengers between trains who had wandered over from the nearby railroad station.